Destruction
by TheNocturne
Summary: Robin shows Starfire that there's more on this planet than endless, catastrophic destruction. One-shot, Robin/Starfire.


**Finallyyy! I've been wanting to write a Teen Titans fanfic for a while now and I just barely got around to it today, after I started off the next chapter of When I Close My Eyes. This was just fun. No plot or anything. Just fun.**

**Gah. These two are my favorites. So cute together.**

**I have to go chill with my roomies, but I'll see you guys again soon, count on it. I love you all tons and bunches and wish you a happy Monday (even though Mondays are gross).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.**

**Love, Sadie**

--

It started off small.

A bare rumble. Not even large enough to spill a glass of water.

Robin brushed it off as a product of perhaps Cyborg's rigorous training routine, until it happened again, this time a tremble that caught his attention and held it. When the building stilled, he got to his feet and began to look around, first out the window for a sign that something might have caused the strange tremor. When he couldn't find anything there, he dismissed it almost immediately.

And then it came again, with more force than ever before.

The tower could feel the effects of it, even in the utmost levels, and Robin lunged to secure himself underneath a doorframe. Around him, cabinets were opening and spitting out their contents, and the dishes on the counter were jumping across the top and leaping onto the floor, shattering into a million fragments. The lights were swinging in circles and Robin felt a stab of fear for the first time as the shaking continued to shatter pieces of the expansive room.

A girlish scream came from the hall, and before Robin could react, a body slammed into his with full force and wrapped spidery limbs around him. It only took a millisecond from him to recognize the alien girl who was so tightly clinging to him, given the fact that she had begun babbling to him the minute that he was in her line of vision. Her voice, normally bright, was now shaking with a fear that she had not yet met.

"Please, Robin, is the earth angry with us?! What is happening?" Her head had found its way into his shoulder, where she was whispering words that could have been a quiet attempt to appease the ground with her apologies. It was amazing. . . just when he would forget about her origins and begin to think of her as an average human, something like this would happen and he would realize just how far away from home she really was.

His voice was patient as he tried to speak above the noise that the natural phenomenon was creating. "It's an earthquake, Star. It's normal. When two plates beneath the ground collide or rub together, we get earthquakes."

She didn't appear to be convinced, for one of her hands had created a death-grip around his wrist and she began to speak in a voice that carried far more panic in it than Robin liked to hear. "Please, Robin, how do we make happy again the earth?" Her wide eyes were horrorstruck as she watched the wreckage that was taking place in their living room; the shattered dishes, the broken DVD's, the rumbling furniture. . . it was a terrible sight for one who had never experienced an earthquake before.

He wrapped an arm around her torso and shook his head. "It will pass."

And, in time, it did.

But not before Starfire had seen an eyeful of it.

Even the information that it was a natural phenomenon did nothing to soothe her. Robin sat down with her and explained the plates to her, using his hands to show her the friction created. She said nothing throughout the entire explanation, but the depths of her eyes seemed to darken as she began to understand. Instead of comforting her, the information only made her look away.

"Star?" Robin leaned forward and tried to find the cause of her distress. Her mouth, normally an upward crescent, was now in a taut line that signaled something that he had never encountered before.

"Robin." Her hands twisted together tensely, like she was anticipating a quick escape. "Please, I do not understand. Why is this world so destructive? Why are the elements so angry and horrible all the time?"

Oh.

He opened his mouth to deny her claim, when he realized what she was talking about. Thunderstorms. Tornados. Earthquakes. Volcanoes. Tidal waves. All of them taken for granted as parts of nature that were inescapable and unpredictable. For Starfire, punishment from the earth for the misdeeds of its inhabitants.

Finally, he gave up and took her hand. "Let me show you something."

In just a few minutes, they were flying through the air, and away from the ground and the ruins that the earthquake had left behind. It was a small one on the Richter scale, and had not done much damage to most of the city, but Starfire's eyes were guarded as they flew upward, following Robin's directions while she carried him through the sky.

It was futile to try to make conversation with the distraught alien girl, and so he was left with simple commands. North. West. Up there. They were far beyond the reaches of the city, and the cold wind had become a whip of ice on Robin's cheeks. That was the only downside to flying with Starfire, who was more than happy to assist him in escaping the claws of gravity.

Finally, he found what he was looking for. An area thick with trees and growth, one that would serve his purposes. Meekly, he requested a landing, and pointed to the general area that he wanted her to stop in. She obliged silently, and once they were both firmly planted on the surface of the earth, he gently took her hand and began to lead her through the trees to a specific place.

Finally, the sound alerted him to the location that he was looking for, and he emerged through the underbrush upon a waterfall. It was not a large one, and rather unimpressive by the standards of some of nature's greatest works, but the mist that swirled around it was scented with pine and the fading sun sent the water into a vibrant myriad of colors.

His female companion let out a breath of surprised air as she took in the scene with a surprised glance around the entire circumference of the area. Her curiosity got the best of her, and within seconds she was sticking her fingers into the cold water and gasping delightedly as it washed over her hand. And then she was peering into the river, grinning at the small signs of life that darted away from her and into the shadows of the riverbed.

"See?" Robin's voice was quiet as he affectionately watched her play with the river like a child might. Her fascination with such a simple scene reminded him of what it was like to actually find joy in the smallest things in life. It was one of the things that attracted him to her, the way that she made him want to find his inner child and dig him out again. "It's not just destruction. There's beauty on earth, too."

Her eyes turned to meet his, a pair of green lenses that were drilling holes into his gaze as her response washed forward to encompass his entire being in her words. "I know."


End file.
